If you haven’t seen this video yet, you should take the time to watch, because what’s going on now in Wisconsin and may play out in other states as well is not about state deficits or budget cuts. It’s about union-busting and the power that goes with it. Breaking the unions is a stepping stone to that “permanent Republican majority” that the GOP have been working towards for years. It’s also about the money that the Citizens United ruling allowed to flow directly to the Republicans, and the corporations that are throwing it at them. And they’re not going to stop. It’s about plutocracy.

Just look at what Republicans are doing now. Redefining rape, de-funding health care, draconian laws against women, abortion, pushing for laws that make the killing of abortion doctors “justifiable homicide,” guns in schools, churches and bars, deregulating everything like big polluters, oil companies, repealing laws from the FDA, EPA, FAA, and these are just a few. Do you really want Republicans who are puppets to corporate rule to have a permanent majority? Look what happened in Arizona. They’re willing to do just about anything to get there, and trashing the country is of no concern to them. Just like John Boehner shrugged off job losses, they’re willing to trash the very Democracy they claim to love so much:

"I don't recall, I don't know what you mean by...., what do you mean by...., I wouldn't know, I'm not sure, say the question again, I don't know what that definition is, I'm not sure I understand, I have no idea, I'm not sure what you mean by...., Could you define what you mean by....? It looks like my signature....but what's your question?"

Here is some long awaited footage from a deposition Rick Scott gave on March 17, 1995. Scott’s former company, Columbia/HCA Health was fined a record $1.7 billion on charges of Medicare fraud, although Scott was never charged. Scott invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination 75 times in another case.

To say he’s a bit “evasive” in this deposition is an understatement. Keep in mind as you watch, Scott is also a lawyer.

Marco Rubio holds himself out as one who is living the “American Dream” and was lucky enough to be able to do so because America is the “greatest country in the world” according to his stump speech. However, what was good enough for him apparently is not good enough for others. You see, Rubio doesn’t support the Dream Act. He also supports “English only” policies, but not English only votes when he runs campaign ads in Spanish in areas with heavy Hispanic populations, which he did with his recent campaign ad called “Padres.” It told the story of Rubio’s “American Dream” in Spanish, for any Hispanic voters who don’t speak English who may have missed Rubio’s story before.

Just another group of voters who Rubio hopes will vote against their own best interests by placing him in the U.S. Senate.

President Obama has recorded a new radio ad this week for Kendrick Meek’s Senate campaign.

The text of the ad:

President Obama:

This is Barack Obama and I want you to know why I strongly support Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senate.

Kendrick’s been a powerful voice for Floridians: standing up to special interests, to hold Wall Street accountable, fighting the insurance industry to make sure health care isn’t denied to our children because of a preexisting condition, working to eliminate subsidies to banks so young people can afford a college education, and Kendrick strongly opposes extending tax breaks for the wealthy and has worked tirelessly to expand the middle class and support small businesses.

So please join me in supporting Kendrick Meek for Senate.

Because if we work together, he will win.

Announcer:

Go to KendrickMeek.com to learn more. Or text”join” to 35736. That’s “join” to 35736 to get involved today.

Here’s the newest ad from Alex Sink illustrating Rick Scott and his history with Columbia/HCA, Medicare fraud, Solantic, and his “profits over patients” and business practices. It’s definitely worth watching.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been in the news a lot lately and for good reason. They are one of the larger contributors to political campaigns for Republicans in particular. They also have a great deal of foreign membership and get a lot of foreign money. One of the reasons they’ve been in the news so much recently is the concern over how much foreign money may be influencing United States elections.

One thing that caught my attention was how much money the Chamber is spending on political campaign attack ads:

Earlier this week, a ThinkProgress investigation found that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been raising funds from foreign-based corporations to solicit funding for their general 501(c)(6) entity, and that entity runs approximately $75 million worth of partisan attack ads. This week alone, the Chamber ran nearly $10.5 million in attack ads in many of the most competitive elections in America. Republican candidates in the nine Senate and 22 House districts are benefiting from the Chamber’s support.

According to Campaign Money Watch, some of that $10.5 million is going to Florida candidates. One of the top three candidates benefiting from the largest sums is none other than Marco Rubio. Rubio has received $1,000,000. That amount is topped by only two other candidates on the list, Carly Fiorina in California and Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire. Rubio is not the only Florida candidate getting those funds.

Expenditures for Republican candidates in Florida filed by the Chamber on Oct. 5 were the following:

Campaign Money Watch today called on 31 federal candidates to join its effort to demand the U.S. Chamber of Commerce answer questions about the use of its foreign corporate dues in political advertising.

The letter sent to those candidates reads in part:

Recent news coverage surfaced significant and serious questions about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce use of foreign corporate funding for electoral activities. We are also troubled that evidence suggests that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in raising money overseas, has promised to represent the business interests of foreign corporations in Washington, D.C.

Since the Chamber has spent money in your election, we urge you to join us in demanding that the Chamber answer these important questions about their foreign funding and their representation of those overseas corporations. If they cannot or will not provide evidence to back up their claims, we urge you to join us in demanding that the Chamber remove all advertising or other electoral activities from your race…..

….This recent revelation goes beyond simple disclosure of campaign spending. The Chamber’s acceptance of foreign corporate money into the same account from which it is funding attack ads crosses the line of democratic decency. But the Chamber’s response to this question of mingling foreign and domestic dues has been inadequate. A spokeswoman told a Washington Post reporter, “We don’t feel obligated to answer that question.”

This is a dangerous precedent to let stand. Unfortunately, the Chamber’s response so far has been to attempt to dismiss the allegations as if no principles were involved, and to loudly criticize those posing questions as political partisans. The Chamber diminishes the criticism by claiming that very little money has been received from overseas affiliates and dues-paying corporations. But it is not partisan politics that is at stake; rather, serious democratic principles and laws are potentially being violated. The law does not distinguish between small and large amounts of foreign corporate money influencing American elections. All foreign corporate money is prohibited.

Moreover, by accepting the dues of foreign corporations, the Chamber is operating as the political outpost for those interests in Washington by pledging to mold public opinion to benefit their members. The method the Chamber is employing today to shape public opinion is electoral advertising in your race and others around the country….

….We are not asking you to criticize the Chamber. We are simply asking you to join with us to “trust, but verify.” It is the very least that you, as a candidate for high office seeking the public’s trust, can do.

It will be interesting to see if any of those Republican candidates will do what the letter asks. But for the party that never appears in public without a flag pin on their lapel, claims they are the party who most “support the troops” and the party that “keeps America safe” and are quick to call anyone who doesn’t agree with them “un-American,” I would like to see them put that money where their talking points are and honor this request.

As for Marco Rubio, his standard stump speech spouts that America is the greatest country in the world, that America is “exceptional” and that he “wants to take the country back.” I think he should explain to those who would vote for him and all the American people just where he wants to take the country back to? So far Rubio’s campaign has been funded not only by the Chamber, but by Dick Armey and FreedomWorks, Karl Rove and American Crossroads, which some have called for an investigation of, and several others, and those are just the ones we know of.

Call me crazy, but I think we deserve to know where the money is coming from.

The citizens of this country are the ones these candidates are elected to represent. Not the foreign countries who fund their campaigns.

I hate to tell her, but we’ve “heard” because she’s said as much herself on video. We’ve not only heard, we’ve seen her say she was a witch, among other things. She’s a “deep” sort who believes that mice have been cloned with human brains, her dad was “Bozo,” and were it not for her love of meatballs, she’d be approaching us in an airport somewhere with pamphlets instead of running for the U.S. Senate. But here we are.

Here is O’Donnell in all her “glory,” all dressed up in black along with her pearls, sans magic wand and “psst!” no flag pin!

Now below we have a “rebuttal” of sorts to the Christine O’Donnell ad: